It Sure Sounds Like Kevin Sumlin Is Getting Fired

It Sure Sounds Like Kevin Sumlin Is Getting Fired

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin has been on the proverbial hot seat for quite some time now and according to the Houston Chronicle, there are a lot of people plugged in with A&M’s program who say Sumlin won’t make it past the LSU game no matter what.

COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin will be fired following the Aggies’ regular-season finale at LSU on Saturday night, multiple people with knowledge of the situation said.

Sumlin is expected to be dismissed in the day or days following the A&M game against the Tigers. The Aggies are a double-digit underdog to the Tigers, and an A&M victory wouldn’t save his job at this point, the sources said.

This all leaked to reporters just in time for Sumlin’s weekly press conference on Tuesday, and naturally he acted like it was the first he’d heard of it.

A resolute Sumlin on Tuesday at his weekly press conference said that he expects to be A&M’s coach next season.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said in response to a question from the Chronicle about his future.

Told that the Chronicle had learned he wouldn’t be back next season, Sumlin responded, “I haven’t heard that.”

Yeah, OK.

Texas A&M plays No. 19 LSU on Saturday. It’s a game of some significance because Texas A&M has tried to characterize LSU as some sort of a rival, but is 0-5 against LSU since joining the SEC.

But it doesn’t sound like it carries enough significance to make a difference one way or another on Sumlin’s job, which he got in 2012 after a strong run at Houston.

Even that season A&M finished third in the SEC West behind Alabama and LSU, and the Aggies haven’t come close to competing for a division title since. Sumlin has two years remaining on his contract that pays $5 million annually, and the two sides are expected to negotiate a buyout in the range of $10 million.

The Sumlin years at A&M has been marked, as we have noted, be strong starts followed by devastating collapses. Sumlin may argue that if you look at those seasons in total — and he does have a 51-25 record at Texas A&M — the program looks relatively strong, but at 7-4 this year the Aggies appear headed for another good-not-great season, and you only get so many of those.